Learn Esperanto the easy way!

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Esperanto is the international language, developed in the 1880s. It is the only planned, or artificial language to claim any kind of widespread form of acceptance, although it is certainly neither the first nor the only language advocated for solving the international language problem.
The main benefit of Esperanto is that as a systematic, regular language, it is many times easier to learn that the national, ethnic languages. Esperanto speakers can make these claims by pointing to the regular verb system, the perfect orthography (pronunciation as words are spelled), the regularity of accents and ease of word building.
Word building is one of the most attractive elements of Esperanto, as it enables one to be more expressive in the language from an earlier point in the learning process. For example, if you dont know that the Esperanto word for 'war' is milito, an acceptable alternative might be mal-paco, "the opposite of peace." Word building also allows for more creative speech. These constructed words, so long as they are in line with the 16 grammatical rules, are technically and grammatically correct.

Esperanto has survived for nearly 115 years, and is spoken today by more people than ever. Esperanto speakers can easily be found in major cities all over the world and at annual congresses attended by thousands of speakers. It is also common on the internet, and in a vast body of literature and periodicals. While you may be unable to communicate in a hotel in some "Esperantoland," if you travel, there is a good chance you can find a local Esperantist who can translate and speak the local language for you, and possibly even provide you with everything you would find in a hotel.

Because of the regularity of pronunciation and the regularity of the location of the accented syllable, the phrases in this site do not contain pronunciation guidelines. Rather, you are advised to pay close attention to the pronunciation guide (see the "Esperanto Key" for a thorough overview of Esperanto rules), and refer back to it if necessary.

Esperanto Introduction 

The 3000 languages in the world today were originated by our ancient ancestors and morphed over several millennia. These languages are full of inconsistencies and irregularities. It is a tribute to the capacity of the human mind that it can handle such difficult material. In 1887, a new language, free from irregularities, was introduced. By speaking this relatively easy-to-learn bridge language, people from all backgrounds are able to overcome the language barrier. Today, Esperanto is the only planned human language in widespread use. Use an Esperanto-English dictionary and refer to this "key" while reading texts in Esperanto to help you unlock the meaning of Esperanto according to the grammatical rules.

Alphabets and Pronunciation Guide 

Here is the list of alphabets used in Esperanto language
Esperanto Alphabets
Every Esperanto word is pronounced as it is spelt, without exception. The five vowels are a as in father, e as in set, i as in machine, o as in bone, u as in tune. (These guides are for U.S. English speakers.)
The six letters unique to Esperanto, , , , , and , were introduced so that every sound could be represented by just one letter (unlike combination such as "ch" in "church" or "sh" as in "shoe"). In Esperanto, q, w, x and y are absent, but appear in foreign names, and are treated like ç, ñ, ð, ø, ß etc.

Pronunciation Guide

The consonants are pronounced pretty much the same as in English, but those that differ from English are as follows:
- ts as in dance
- ch as in chop
- 'hard' g as in go
- 'soft' g as in age
- 'hard' like j in Andalusean Spanish jota
or ch in Scottish loch
- y as in year
- is like s in pleasure
- always like s in sip
- sh as in shoe
- w as in west

All of the other consonants are like in English, except note that r is slightly trilled, like in Spanish. The dot over the j is lost in .

Combination involving vowels:
- like y in sky
- like ay in day
- like oy in boy
- like ouy in bouy, but as one syllable
- like ow in cow
- say eh+w as one syllable

The stress in Esperanto always falls on the second-to-last vowel. Be careful with words like radio and familio, in which the last i is stressed. Also, be aware that there are no "silent" letters in Esperanto. So in words with combination such as kn or sc at the beginning, both consonants must be sounded out. The sc combination may be tricky, but in reality it is common in English, in words such as chests. This combination appears on the beginning of some common Esperanto words.

Alphabet song! 

By the way, here is the "Alphabet Song" as we will learn it in class (same tune as for English):

A Bo Co Cxo Do E Fo
Go Gxo Ho Hxo I Jo Jxo
Ko Lo Mo No O Po Ro
So Sxo To U Uxo Vo Zo
Es-pe-rant-o al-fa-bet'
Nun ek-ler-nu gra-ma-tik - ON!

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Esperanto Movies 

Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging

Georgia Nicolson (Georgia Groome) has two goals in life: Get a gorgeous boyfriend, and throw the bes...
Call of the Wild

Nine-year-old city girl Ryann Hale (Ariel Gade) is a real fish out of water when she visits Grandpa...
(500) Days of Summer

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All About Steve

While Steve (Bradley Cooper) would have to disagree, socially inept Mary (Sandra Bullock) thinks he'...
American Pie Presents: The Book of Love

When Rob (Bug Hall), Nathan (Kevin M. Horton) and Lube (Brandon Hardesty) discover the sex bible lef...
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New Amazon Voting (Plexo) 

A Complete Grammar of Esperanto by Ivy Kellerman

A Complete Grammar of Esperanto by Ivy Kellerman

This volume has been prepared to meet a twofold ne more...0 points

The Esperanto Teacher: A Simple Course for Non-Grammarians by Helen Fryer

The Esperanto Teacher: A Simple Course for Non-Grammarians by Helen Fryer

This little book has been prepared in the hope of more...0 points

Esperanto-English English-Esperanto Dictionary & Phrasebook by Joseph F. Conroy

Esperanto-English English-Esperanto Dictionary & Phrasebook by Joseph F. Conroy

Esperanto is a constructed language, designed to b more...0 points

Concise Encyclopedia of the Original Literature of Esperanto by Geoffrey H. Sutton

Concise Encyclopedia of the Original Literature of Esperanto by Geoffrey H. Sutton

Concise Encyclopedia of the Original Literature of more...0 points

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